Events
Pickering Midsummer Festival
Pickering Midsummer Festival is a folky arts weekend in the beautiful town of Pickering, North Yorkshire.
Join us from Thursday 18th until Tuesday 23rd June 2026 for music, author events, storytelling and more around the Summer Solstice.
2026 is the Festival’s inaugural year, though we hope that this will be an annual event which will grow in variety and scale over time. We’re delighted that the first year’s programme includes an exciting range of events which flow as the Midsummer sun progresses, and hope that you can join us in welcoming these brilliant authors, artists and musicians to Pickering!
Notes on Booking
Though the Book Tree initiated the festival and have been heavily involved in planning this year’s events, Pickering Midsummer Festival is a separate entity. Our goal is for this to be a Pickering wide weekend of folk themed arts and community events, which has so much scope to grow over time!
This page lists the events which are currently in place for the weekend, with links to each booking page where relevant. The majority of the events are ticketed by Pickering Midsummer Festival, and we are using Ticket Source to manage bookings. You can also purchase these tickets from the bookshop counter (currently cash only).
Some events are managed elsewhere, including Midsummer Yoga (booking link takes you to Liz Vowles’ website), as well as the Midsummer Weekend activities organised and run by Beck Isle Museum and Ryedale Folk Museum. These pages give more information about each event with links to external booking pages and websites as appropriate.
Events
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Midsummer Festival: Wyl Menmuir
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringFrom the lonely heights of mountains to the womblike depths of caves, from sacred monuments and pilgrimage sites, to art made by our Neolithic ancestors and today's sculptors, stone has always drawn us in. In The Spirit of Stone, Wyl Menmuir brings together social history, folklore and encounters with the landscapes to explore the many ways in which rock and earth ground us and form part of our identities, histories and futures.
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Midsummer Festival: Toni Bunnell
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringMusic of social conscience and love of the natural world. Toni's original songs in the traditional style, accompanied on guitar, dulcimer, hurdy gurdy and bouzouki, bring audiences and communities together with her rousing performances. 100% of all ticket sales will be donated to Protect the Wild.
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Midsummer Festival: Pre-Ceilidh Meet Up
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringGet to know some of the other people attending the ceilidh in the friendly atmosphere of the bookshop. We'll enjoy a chat and a drink (wine or cordial), and walk along to the Memorial Hall as a group.
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Midsummer Festival: Clodhoppers Ceilidh
Pickering Memorial Hall Potter Hill, PickeringDance together as communities have for generations. Everyone is welcome and no previous ceilidh experience is needed. There will be a bar open from 6.30pm serving alcohol and soft drinks until the music ends at 10pm.
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Midsummer Festival: Solstice Yoga
Pickering Castle Castle Road, Pickering, United KingdomJoin Liz Vowles for a gentle and grounding outdoor yoga session to greet the Summer Solstice. The class is suitable for all levels and will take place in the beautiful surroundings of Pickering Castle.
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Midsummer Festival: Old Songs
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringAs the Summer Solstice twilight nears, join us for a haunting evening of stories told through music, words and art by Soft Lap. Author and historian Amy Jeffs, artist Gwen Burns and musician Natalie Brice join in mesmerising harmony to sing these timeless tales of love and death kept alive through generations of telling.
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Midsummer Festival: Amy Jeffs
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church Hallgarth, Pickering, United KingdomSaints legends suffused medieval European culture. Their heroes wonder-working and suffering shaped landscapes, rituals and folk beliefs. Their tales spoke of women communing with flocks of birds, men raised by wolves and severed heads calling from between bristling paws. In Saints, Amy Jeffs retells legends of the medieval saints alongside their histories, drawing on in-depth research from 4th to 16th century cultural sources, illustrated throughout with beautiful paper cutout art.
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Midsummer Festival: Aidan Meighan
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringAcross cultures and centuries, trees have stood as guardians of life, inspiring stories that connect us to nature, spirituality and tradition. In The Folklore of Trees, Aidan Meighan brings these tales together with rich cultural context and intricate illustrations, sharing the myths, legends and secrets of the world's most iconic trees, and the seasonal customs, protective charms and superstitions associated with them.
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Midsummer Festival: Tree Walk
Beck Isle Museum Bridge Street, Pickering, United KingdomExplore the folklore of trees on the Pickering Beck and Castle route! During the approximately two mile circular walk, arboreal devotee and author of The Folklore of Trees will talk about the legends, secrets and myths of the trees on our doorstep. Optional add-on: we'll end the walk with a sandwich buffet in The Forest and Vale Hotel garden, home to a 300+ year old sweet chestnut tree.
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Midsummer Festival: Beth Burrows
Pickering Book Tree 43a Market Place, PickeringBeth Burrows is deeply rooted in traditional folk and has a long career in a cappella performances of songs from the living tradition at workshops, folk clubs and festivals across Yorkshire and beyond. Beth will be accompanied by friend and fellow musician Alison Lawson for this blend of workshop and performance, where we'll join together in song and learn how to keep the tradition alive.